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This week we continue our discussion of chapter 22 of Luke’s Gospel. Please read verses 31-43 every day this week and, if possible, use a different translation each day, asking God to open your eyes to fresh revelation from His Word.
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Luke 22:39-43 (NLT)
‘Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives. There he told them, “Pray that you will not give in to temptation.”
He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed,
“Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him.’
Compared to the other gospels, Luke chooses not to mention so many details about what is happening on this night. He doesn’t go into any kind of detail about the disciples who had been left at the gate of the garden. Nor does he mention the three who accompanied Jesus into the garden itself. Luke only refers to one instance of Jesus praying and going back to the disciples whereas the other gospels mention 3 separate occasions of that happening.
I don’t know why this is the case but Luke does focus our attention on the suffering of the Lord and Luke alone records the visit of the angel to strengthen Jesus. Luke is a physician and he is using his knowledge to record the appalling horror of what Jesus was going through in the garden. We’ll look more at this next week.
I’ve watched several television programmes that refer to someone being threatened with attack or kidnap. In each one of them, the police always give the same kind of advice: “Don’t do the same things as you usually do. Take a different route to work each day. Go to different coffee shops. Vary your pattern as much as possible.” If you knew you were likely to be attacked, then I’m sure that you would do as much as you could to stay out of the path of danger. It makes sense to keep your attackers guessing as to where you’re going to be at any one time.
Jesus is doing the exact opposite to what would be considered sensible behaviour. He knows that He’s going to be betrayed, He knows that the religious leaders want Him dead and yet He goes to a place that He visits regularly. Jesus is aware that they are coming for Him. He knows where they’re going to be and He goes deliberately and with determination to that very place. Nothing about this whole scenario is ‘normal’. We have the Son of God willingly surrendering His life for the sins of the world. He’s not going to be killed according to anyone else’s agenda. God is in complete control and Jesus is following the will of His Father to the letter.
Whenever I read these verses, I’m always struck by the simplicity of Jesus’ words. “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Nevertheless, not my will but Yours be done.” There is another verse in the New Testament that says “Jesus learned obedience from what He suffered.” I often struggle to do the right thing because my own will is so different to God’s. However, my prayer is that we all go through a learning process where we continually align our will so that it matches that of our Father. May we all pray the same prayer that Jesus offered – “not my will but Yours be done.”
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